22 December 2009

3 minute read

Europe

From 1 February 2010, British farmers will be eligible for unsecured, interest-free loans for between £3,000 and £20,000 to help them upgrade to more energy-efficient equipment. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings provided over one to four years – and after the loan is repaid, farmers will make direct savings on their energy costs, as well as cutting the carbon footprint of what they produce.

Hilary Benn said: “It makes sense for farmers to reduce the energy they use. It reduces the cost of producing food, and it cuts the environmental impact, too – something more and more consumers are asking about. But the up-front costs can be prohibitive.

“These interest-free loans will help farmers to upgrade their equipment to become more energy efficient – saving money in the long run, as well as helping the agricultural sector to cut emissions right at the start of the food chain.”

The loans scheme is part of the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit – a nationwide campaign encouraging British businesses to replace old, energy intensive equipment which wastes £3.3 billion a year. The money has been made available from a £100 million Carbon Trust fund ring-fenced by the Treasury from 1 April 2009 until the end of March 2011. The loans will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Examples of energy efficiency upgrades which the Carbon Trust loans will fund are:

• Thermal screens, used in greenhouse horticulture, typically cost up to £20,000, and can save over £10,000 / 100 tonnes of CO2 annually.
  
  
• Milk cooling accounts for one third of the energy consumption of dairy farms. New systems cost £3,000, and save up to £1,000 / 6 tonnes of CO2 a year.
  
  
• Insulation used in field horticulture crop stores, typically costs around £17,000, and saves up to £10,000 / 50 tonnes of CO2 a year.
  
  
• Upgrading heating and ventilation controls, in livestock farms, typically costs £3,000, and saves over £4,000 / 23 tonnes of CO2 a year.
  
  
• Grain drying humidity controls, used in arable farming, typically costs £3,000, and saves around £1,500 / 10 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Tom Delay, chief executive, the Carbon Trust, said: “Upgrading old equipment using our loans scheme is an excellent way for farmers to be more competitive in difficult times, by cutting their costs and reducing carbon emissions. By reducing costs and associated carbon emissions in this way, goods will also be more appealing to the rising tide of carbon conscious shoppers.”

NFU President Peter Kendall said: “Improving energy efficiency is a win-win situation because it helps cut agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions as well as saving money for farmers and growers. There are already examples of businesses that have taken simple but effective steps to reduce their environmental impact in this way and I hope these loans will enable others to follow suit.”

The new funding has been provided to help the farming sector to meet the carbon reduction aims laid out the Government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan. In the plan, the Government announced a target to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by three million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2020. Using the loans scheme, the Carbon Trust hopes to provide around 1,000 farmers with £12 million, interest-free, to upgrade old equipment, or purchase renewable energy technologies, which will cut emissions by 25,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

TheCattleSite News Desk